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BK Container BK____B

BK Container History

The 'BK' container was a variation on the general purpose 'B' type,
around 16 feet long with doors at one end only. The principle feature
of the 'BK' was the provision of internal laths to tie the load to,
the containers being intended for furniture traffic.

Furniture containers can be traced right back to the 'lift vans' of
the early days (see the history page, but
the first real example was probably K1, built by the LMS in 1932 for its
new 'Furniture Delivery Service' - the purpose of this being neatly
summarised in the slogan 'Household Removals and New Furniture Traffic'.
All of the pre-nationalisation companies developed similar traffic, and
British Railways added 1,435 'BK' containers of its own between 1949 and
1958. These were built to three very similar designs ('diagrams'); all
were clad in plywood.

The opportunity to acquire these two containers followed a small
piece in the May 2005 edition of 'Heritage Railway' magazine. John
Fuller of the SKLR saw the article and contacted the GCR, and I
inspected the containers at Kemsley Down on 24/05/05.

Plywood containers have generally not survived as well as those
clad in tongue-and-groove boarding, and relatively few BK containers
were built by British Railways, so this container is a real prize find
and it will form an important part of the GCR's collection.

When it was inspected, the container appeared to be in reasonably sound
structural condition - with the exception of one side which had been
crudely patched with a sheet of plywood after somebody drove into it!

Unfortunately the damage was more extensive than first thought, as it
had allowed the weather to attack the container through the damaged side.
Removing the plywood patch prior to transport was possibly a mistake, as
this seems to have been holding the side up. The consequence of all of
this was that the roof timber, rotten in the accident-damaged area,
started to collapse during the journey, much to the alarm of the lorry
driver.

The container which eventually arrived on the GCR was in a rather
sorry state indeed, although in reality it probably looks worse than it
is.

The following photographs tell some of the story:

BK____B at Kemsley Down, SKLR. Note the plywood sheet which covers
the place where someone once drove into it.

To unload, first we transferred the container onto the lorry. Then
we manoeuvred the lorry into position, and actually lifted the BK
over the top of the adjacent shipping container in order to get it
where we wanted it.

Identification and Restoration

So far, we have been unable to positively identify this container. Trying
to gently rub the white paint off simply causes flakes of rotten plywood
to fall off, taking the original paint with it. I do have a theory,
which I'm not quite ready to reveal at the moment, but you can help
by looking at the Number Theory page.

Alternatively, do you have any photographs of it on the SKLR
years ago, before the white paint was applied? Maybe in the background of
another picture? If so, please get in touch via the contacts
page. Alternatively, if any forensic scientists fancy a challenge...?

From photographs of other BK containers this is believed to be a
diagram 3/127 example, which means that some basic details can be
established:

Restoration of this container is high on the priority list in order
to prevent further deterioration. Some serious woodwork is called for,
starting with the near-total replacement of the accident-damaged side -
to be followed by some structural work on the other side, major surgery
on the doors, re-cladding the whole thing, repairing the roof and
replacing some missing floor timbers. Apart from that little lot, it's
quite good!

This picture of diagram 3/127 contaier BK9005B shows the livery to
which our BK will eventually be restored. Traces of this livery are
still visible on one side.Photo taken from 'British Railway Goods Wagons In Colour' by
Robert Hendry.

Elsewhere on our BK some flakes of paint from its earlier maroon
livery - with yellow lettering - are still clinging bravely to one side.
Unfortunately it is not possible to restore it to this livery as we don't
have any photographs on which to base the lettering.